Parched Panhandle could see rain this evening

Forecasters are predicting a good chance of rain showers to brush the region, but it still won’t put the region on par for precipitation amounts, authorities said.

A storm system near El Paso will help bring moisture to the area, but because it moved further south than expected, the Panhandle is likely to receive less than an inch of precipitation tonight, said Amarillo’s National Weather Service meteorologist Lance Goehring. He said the Panhandle’s southeast counties are likely to see more showers.

As of about 9 a.m., meteorologists said there is about a 50 percent chance of rain this afternoon, and the chances will increase through the evening. Goehring said the rain may change over to snow during the night, but there won’t be much accumulation.

The first showers this year came during the dust storms Sunday and brought about two-hundreths of an inch of rain, he said.

Even with today’s predicted showers, Goehring said the area is still behind normal in precipitation amounts by about three-tenths of an inch.